The only London Underground station that still has wooden escalators

There is still a London Underground Station which has wooden escalators. They are found in Alperton station, which is in North West London and sits on the Uxbridge branch of the Piccadilly line between Sudbury Town and Park Royal stations.

However, they’re not in use and are bricked up behind a wall. Still, it’s a pretty cool addition to have.

But the reason behind the wooden escalators not being in use is actually quite sinister. They were phased out of use following the 1987 King’s Cross fire, which began at St Pancras tube station in London and took the lives of 31 passengers.

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It began as a result of people being allowed to smoke on the London Underground, with a passenger fatally dropping a lit match ignited grease beneath the escalator. In the aftermath of the fire heat detectors and sprinklers were to be fitted beneath escalators, and the radio communication system and station staff emergency training were to be improved.

In fact, it was such a landmark event that it resulted in improvements to firefighters’ equipment too. Yellow plastic leggings that melted in the heat and rubber gloves that limited movement were replaced with more effective clothing.

Since 2014 the entire London Underground has used metal escalators, with the last wooden escalator at Greenford on the Central line taking its final steps on March 11 that year.

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